Wednesday Bolts – 6.23.10

Some have asked about a DT draft party. And instead of setting one up independent of the “official” one, I figured it would just be good to have everyone in one place. So if you’d like to party draft style with other Thunder fans, go to Toby Keith’s in Bricktown at 6 PM. We may have some kind of area for DT readers and a potential giveaway. More on that soonish.

KD fully expects to sign an extension with OKC in July: “I’m expecting to get something done,” Durant told The Oklahoman when asked about his expectations for his first contact negotiation, which can begin in earnest at midnight Eastern on July 1. “Hopefully I’ll have a deal done and something set.”

If you haven’t read Henry Abbott’s feature on William Wesley, do it now: “At the core of Wesley’s power is the reality that elite professional athletes trust him. Most of them will say nothing on the record about him at all, out of respect for his desire to be behind-the-scenes, but those who do speak will, in my experience, generally say something along the lines of what Jerryd Bayless told me the day before he was drafted: “Wes has been a mentor to me. Helped me out. I have asked him questions about on the court stuff. Whatever I need. He has helped me. Never anything negative. I’ll always respect and love him for that.”

The top 40 free agents, according to Chris Mannix: “20. J.J. Redick: “Redick is fresh off the most productive season of his four-year career, having firmly established himself in Orlando’s rotation. As Vince Carter and Matt Barnes struggled during the postseason, Redick was frequently on the floor for the Magic in the fourth quarter. Redick could be in line for a deal that starts at more than his qualifying offer.”

More on KD being a cover boy from Dime: “At an exclusive launch party last night in NYC, they announced that Kevin Durant will be the cover athlete for NBA Elite 11. And KD, in his humble way, couldn’t have been more psyched. “I’ve always been a fan of EA Sports,” says Durant, who’s only he third player in EA Sports history to be featured both on the pack of an NCAA and an NBA licensed product. “This has been an exciting year for me and the team, and capping it off with being on the cover of NBA Elite 11 is cool.”

Do you like reading? If you’re here, I assume you do. DT friend J.G. is also an author and has completed his first work of fiction, entitled The Gift of the Greenstone. He posted the prologue on his website. Do us all a favor and check it out.

Chad Ford’s newest mock: “The Thunder will have a tough call to make here between Alabi, Daniel Orton and Kevin Seraphin. The Thunder have been high on Orton all year, but a so-so workout in OKC, along with concerns about his knees, have given them and everyone else in the league pause. The Thunder, meanwhile, have been high on Alabi for a while. He may seem like a bit of a reach to some, but he appears to be one of the hotter names in the draft at the moment. The Raptors, Celtics, Spurs, Thunder, Heat and Blazers are all showing interest. Those are all teams with historically good draft track records, so watch carefully. Alabi measured as one of the tallest and longest players in the draft, and he showed a nice skill game and a terrific motor in the drills. Some scouts are comparing him to Dikembe Mutombo. I don’t think Alabi has the same sort of rebounding and shot-blocking ability, but he does have a similar demeanor and presence on the court.”

MLive has OKC drafting Kevin Seraphin at 21: “Seraphin plays a lot like Serge Ibaka, so why wouldn’t the team who selected Ibaka be interested? The Thunder need more size and Seraphin, though a project, could provide it.”

Lang Whitaker interviewed KD: “We might, but during the Playoffs it was on steroids. In both arenas, in ours and in the Lakers, the crowds were great. And playing in L.A., you see all those celebrities all around the court. And in Oklahoma City, to see how dedicated and energetic our fans were, it was…it was… WAS IT LIKE COLLEGE A LITTLE BIT? It was better than college. They were up all game, they were there two hours before the game. It was like the Superbowl.”

SLAM named KD the NBA’s top player under 25: “Durantula earned the highly coveted top spot on this list, but his selection was definitely not a no-brainer. There are two elite players under the age of 25: Dwight Howard and Kevin Durant. Howard is the best low-post defender and rebounder in the League, but Kevin Durant is a much more complete player. He’s starting to rebound and defend very well. Oh and one other thing…KD led the League in scoring this season.”

Keith, you're being a little too harsh on Orton. You make it seem like he's not even a prospect. At worse, I think he'll be a solid defender. He showed very good post defense fundamentals, establishing a strong base, absorbing blows, then contesting hard. Very rarely did he bite on pump fakes, which is outstanding from such a young player. He was also a fine shotblocker, exhibiting good timing and solid athleticism for his size. While he looked extremely raw on offense for most of the year, he pulled out some fluid looking turnaround jumpers that portended offensive talent. I think the deal with him is that his pure talent might be top ten caliber and taking him in the 20s could be a coup down the line.

@PaulOnce they traded Outlaw, that freed up space on the wing for them, ala Chandler. He'd be a great fit for them because he can share time with the young Batum and play some stretch 4 as well. Miller (along with Camby) was the main reason they did so well down the stretch, he's better than just "old". They're fine at PG with those 2 especially considering B-Roy can and does play PG too.

@f5alconName one team that is going to trade them a startable center for Fernandez.

@GregMiller is old, and Bayless is better as a 6th man than actually running the show, not saying Douglas would be any better. But rather if I was Portland the 2 places I would Upgrade would be PG and C.

There is more than enough there in my post for any reasonable person to decipher why in my humble opinion he is a stiff. I said he was robotic in reference to the way he was doing the drills and ran the floor and that's the vibe he gave off to me. I then acknowledged that I could be wrong because such drills are no substitute for judging a player like you could from an in-game situation.

@KeithThis is true, which is where it could be important to try and make a play for Biedrins BEFORE new management takes over and while Nellie is still in charge. Just my thoughts. Not to mention it would help figuring out who to draft a bit easier if you already have Biedrins on the team.

@PaulThat's a great point. New management could put a whole new spin on a lot of this. But then again, if management is trying to build a real team, as opposed to the Nellie-ball tragedy, they probably don't want to get rid of a player like Biedrins. Trading Monta is one thing, he's a new age Arenas without the outside shot. But trading a great rebounder and willing defender in the post is different. Biedrins is probably only on the block because Nellie hates him.

@KeithA lot is changing in the world of GS at least from what I can tell. Newer owner and new front office and coaching coming quickly. Something tells me once Nellie is out of the way a lot of these attitude things are going to change quickly. If the new owners think Ellis has an attitude he won't be there long and there could still be Monta for Mayo type trades out there which this new ownership might take. Especially since there was a report from GS saying that all the new owner people wanted to build around Curry (which also probably pisses Monta off in addition to the trading of one of his best friends on the team in Maggette).

@PaulI think all of us would welcome Biedrins if he can stay healthy, it's unlikely he does, and it's possible we can use cap space for a better player (Lee, Bosh). If we strike out with trading up and FA, Biedrins would be a great fallback.

Also, I don't see why Monta wanting to be traded means much. GS turned down Monta for Mayo, both a cap-saving move and grabbing a better fit player. If they won't take an equally talented young player who fits better, obviously they don't care what Monta things.

@ThunderHornHe said Alabi looked robotic in his movements. I'm not trying to steal the argument, but I think the both of you aren't seeing what the other is arguing. Obviously no one expects Alabi to be taking long jumpers in the NBA, in fact most predict he won't take many shots at all, making a living on defense. That said, I wasn't all that impressed by Alabi either. He seems to be thinking through his motions too much, putting a little bit of hesitation in his step and form. That may have been fine when he was bigger than everyone in college, it's going to be a disaster when guys are just as big as him and have better footwork in the NBA.

Orton seems like a bad pick, IMO, more than Alabi. He proved absolutely nothing in college, has bad knees, is overweight, isn't athletic, and bombed in all his workouts. I still don't see what makes this guy a first rounder.

Off-topic kind of, but Monta Ellis is again saying he is unhappy with GS. IF he were to demand a trade, they might go in full out re-building mode and Biedrins might be had for a lot cheaper. While I would never wish drama or harm on anybody or any organization, it would be helpful to OKC if such a thing did occur.

Well I moreso meant that any seemingly any transaction (whether it be via draft or even FA) has been discussed or simply thrown out there. Whether it be trading into the top 5 for Cousins, signing Lee, it seems like we've covered all bases from plausible to outrageous.

I think snagging Bosh would be the ultimate 'wow Presti is God" move, and signing Lee would be a really big (but pleasant as well) surprise to me and a lot of others too.

I think what would be funny is if Presti did promise to Orton, "if you're still on the board when we pick at 21 - we plan to select you". Foolishly thinking that it couldn't be possible for teams like the Pacers and Heat to pass on him, and even if they did... OKC would take him at 21 so he's in the clear. But Presti didn't mention the fact that "if we trade trade into the top 10 we'll be taking Cousins or Monroe - sorry."

@The DONYet apparently we aren't allowed to use any cap space at all in the chance that someone like Lee actually wanted to sign with the Thunder. So it's a very tough situation. We want to move up to get a player that could start, but we don't want to add any salary, and don't want to give up any valuable picks. Sounds very difficult to me.

No one we get at 21 or 26 will start over Kristic. Which is why THIS is the time where Presti needs to shine with some smart trades. This team is on the cusp of being a contender and no rookie in the late 1st round will push it over the edge. We need a darn veteran.

@justinThat or finding ways to move up in the draft to get players who can start.

I have no problem with Pleiss or Seraphin because we can keep them in Europe for a few years and bring them over if they're good. Orton and Alabi though don't really seem to be worth investing in if they aren't going to win a starters spot. I'd even take someone like Whiteside over both of them simply for the fact that he COULD become a starter one day.

then why are you referencing a point in the clip where he misses an 18-20 footer? he's not going to be shooting that. he's a stiff b/c he missed that? you say he is a stiff and then give no justification or evidence just "he seems like a stiff"

My thing is not the shots he made or airballed, it's the fact that he seemed stiff and robotic. I don't know, it's hard to judge from those kinda drills what someone will look like in game situations, but i just don't like what I see from all the footage I can base my judgment on